


Voice and Shadow

by undergroundplayground



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Death, Fantasy, Ghosts, Kidnapping, M/M, Romance, Sexual Assault, Shapeshifter, Sirens, Supernatural Creatures, alternative universe, daddybek, occasional smut, salty yurio, winkwink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 01:03:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11025312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undergroundplayground/pseuds/undergroundplayground
Summary: Yuri Plisetsky takes on the request of killing off the president of Altin Businesses & Co. However, he is unaware that the president happens to be one of the most dangerous supernatural beings residing in the human world.  His own powers are no match for his target, so Yuri has to suck up his pride and seek help from Death, a ghost, and the most unfortunate shapeshifter he has ever met. When he finally comes face to face with the president, it turns out Otabek Altin has his own plans for the rare creature intent upon taking his life.





	1. Target

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually really started to enjoy writing Yurio's character more. So this one will be interesting, since I'll get to do more with him, plus writing as Beka too, which I have even less experience with. I want to keep Beka mostly canon, but since this is an AU, I do need to tweak him a bit to fit the role he's playing (don't worry, it's more smexy Beka~). :)

There was no question that Yuri Plisetsky was the boss’s favorite these days.  Even at 16, Yuri was racking up head counts, knocking off every ‘wanted’ individual Boss Yakov demanded dead.  Usually it was easy enough, especially with human weapons these days, but there were always the rare occasions he had to resort to using the gifts he was born with. Hopefully this would not be one of those times.

Aiming the scope’s crosshairs onto his target, Yuri could only catch the back of the guy’s head. Dark hair, sides shaven extra short, more of a tan complexion, and the shortest, best dressed guy in the room - easy enough.

“Turn around, asshole…” Yuri muttered to himself, preferring to see his targets face before he shot them.

Just as he was about to give up and shoot, the man did turn around. Not only did he turn around, he stared out the window, right in Yuri’s direction, an unimpressed look upon his stern face.

The scope on Yuri’s rifle was immediately darkened by a black cloud.  “Huhhhhh?!” Yuri swore, trying to scrub it clean with his jacket sleeve. Nothing. 

“Shit.” He was too far away, bunkered down in a rundown apartment building, to be seen from the target’s distance.  There was no way he could have been spotted…unless…

Suddenly the room he was in, drowned in shadows, barely lit by the afternoon sun, became a lot more threatening.  Yakov would not send him after something so dangerous though, right? Yuri knew there was not much he couldn’t handle, but this…was something he may at least need back up for.  There had to be a mistake.  Gathering up his gear, he knocked his sunglasses back down onto his face, and quickly escaped the building, taking the back alleys to avoid cops and worse.

 

* * *

 

“YAKOVVVVV!” Screw the boss’s meeting. Yuri kicked the door open, tossing his bag and gear down onto the floor next to Yakov’s desk before flopping down onto a chair. There was only one other person in the room, standing by the window. He ignored Yakov’s annoyed remark, as he kicked his boots up to rest on the edge of the old man’s desk. “Yo, so why the hell did you give me a fucking _Shade Lord_ to tag?!”

“A what?” His boss looked confused, and annoyed. “The request we were given only said to knock out the president of Altin Businesses & Co.”

“Don’t you do some research before you hand me these?!”

“Aw, come on, kitten!” The man by the window turned with a large grin. “Altin’s a lover of exotic pets like you.  Shouldn’t have been too hard to get close to him and…” He made a dirty motion with his hand before miming slitting his throat.

Yuri spat at the older, Swiss man. “Fuck off, Chris. Maybe if you learned how to aim a gun properly, you wouldn’t have to fuck all your targets to death.”

“Believe me, kitty,” Chris winked, “my aim is perfect.”

Listening to the slippery git always made Yuri feel unclean; he hated the guy, but had to give him some credit – he was second only to Yuri in head count, so that was something to brag about, he supposed; even if the man did use disgusting methods.

Yakov held up a hand to quiet them. “How did you find out the target’s a Shade Lord?”

Grabbing his rifle, Yuri tossed it onto the desk. “Check the scope.”

It didn’t take the older Russian long to make the same discovering Yuri had earlier. The dark cloud muddling up the glass was impossible to remove. Not unless the one who created it took it back.

“Did he see you?”

Yuri nodded, frowning. “Was far enough away, no human could have spotted me. Had my hood up and mouth cover on, but my eyes were uncovered so…I dunno if he would recognize me again or not?”

“We should get you out of the country for a while.”

“WHAT?!” Yuri sat up, glaring. Even Chris looked surprised. “Why the hell would I leave the country?!”

Yakov frowned. “I only told you how to recognize a Shade Lord, not how to avoid one. Killing one entirely…that’s nearly impossible from what little I understand.”

“Well, then how the fuck do I kill one?” Yuri was not leaving Russia. Not with his grandfather still around.

“The only person I know who can answer that lives in Japan.” Yakov sighed. “And he’s not all too reliable…”

Yuri stood, grabbing his stuff. “Fine. I’ll go to Japan and make this dude tell me. I’m not losing this tag, nor am I avoiding Russia for an extended period of time. I may live here with you, but you know I can’t leave my grandpa.” His grandpa was the only family who still wanted him, who still acknowledged his rare existence as something other than a disappointment.

His boss knew when it was better to give in and not argue, but he still looked concerned. “Do what you want, but do it quick. If you end up needing back up, actually ask for once; I promised your grandpa I would not let you get hurt. Now that Altin knows he’s being followed, he’ll want to rid himself of any pests.”

“And you are quite the pest sometimes.” Chris added, laughing when Yuri flicked him off before leaving the office.

 

* * *

 

The problem with his impromptu flight to Japan, now that he thought about it as he was already sitting in the crowded plane with the man’s address written down and clutched tightly in his hand, was that his Japanese was actually quite awful.  At least the man he was going to see was Russian, but getting to the location was another matter entirely.

Flights made him sleepy too. He hated sleeping in front of others, for safety reasons, but the lady next to him was definitely part pixie – he could sense it – and he was certain if anyone on the plane tried to attack him mid-flight, she would be a force to reckon with. Pixies always were.

Looking shiftily about, he finally pulled out a cute cartoon cat faced pillow from his travel bag, stuffing it against the plane wall next to him and resting his head to close his eyes for a nap.


	2. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri flies to Japan and meets the man Yakov recommended...but he isn't exactly impressed. Especially after learning the only possible way to knock off his targeted Shade Lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Viktor's way too chill about some things in this fic, I think...since he and Yuuri aren't exactly the main focus of this fic, I haven't really given as much thought to their backgrounds yet. A part of me sort of thinks 'oh, I could write a one-shot showing off their backgrounds in part of this fic' but...I'm too dang lazy.

The man in front of him was clearly a joke.  Yuri was ready to hustle back to Russia and throw something at Yakov – though maybe nothing too hard, the old man might suffer a concussion and die, or have a heart attack from anger and stress.

“Yurio!” The other Russian came skipping back into the room of the inn, bringing a hot bowl of…something. Yuri was not familiar with Japanese foods. “I brought some lunch!”

“I don’t want it.” Yurio snubbed his nose at the, well, admittedly, good smelling food. Ugh, his stomach was going to betray him with its growling. Air plane food was disgusting so he had skipped out, but now he was starving.

After his flight had landed, Yuri had tried his best to use what basic Japanese he possessed to find someone who could point him in the right direction.  Thankfully Hasetsu was not difficult to find, though locating the hot springs proved to be more of a challenge – Yuri had no idea what the words for it were in Japanese.  He was still angry that the old man, whom he had been trying to mime it to, had laughed at him and patted his head.

Once he had arrived, he had been greeted by a cheerful, shorter lady, who had recognized the name of the man immediately.  Yuri had been ushered in to the dining area, and then left alone until _he_ had come in.

Now here he was, sitting across from this Viktor Nikiforov, and doubting the guy knew anything about Shade Lords, especially how to kill one.

“I’m only here to ask you some things, then I’m going back home.” Yuri frowned.

Viktor just nodded with a smile, pushing the bowl across the table to him. “Eat. I won’t tell you anything otherwise.” His words were cheerfully threatening, but Yuri could not help but notice an underlying tone to the older man’s voice; almost weary, like he was not looking forward to discussing what he clearly must know what Yuri had come for. Had Yakov called ahead of his arrival?

Still grumbling, Yuri caved and grabbed the bowl, realizing he had been handed chopsticks as well. Shit. He couldn’t use those.  Well, the guy wouldn’t judge him, would he?  Yuri glared at Viktor as he ate, just begging him to try and make fun of his improper use of the eating utensils.

The food was, surprisingly, quite good, and he had no problem getting seconds. “What the hell is this stuff?!”

“Katsudon!” Viktor replied cheerfully. “It’s my husband’s favorite! He’s around here…somewhere. I lost him this morning.”

Yuri stared at the other man. “You…lost him? How do you fucking lose a man in a building like this?!”

“Eh, heh,” the other man shrugged, “he wanders from time to time, gets stuck in the walls…he’s still getting used to being back.”

What the hell? Was his husband a ghost or something? Yuri was used to many creatures, but ghosts still wigged him out.

Seeing his confusion, and concern, Viktor finally sighed and sat back. “I think it is best I answer what you came here for, before I introduce you to Yuuri.”

“Yuri?”

“Both Yuri, I know.” Viktor nodded. “See, Yuuri was killed by a Shade Lord. Not the same one you’re hunting down, according to Yakov. The one who got my husband was a lesser Shade Lord; there are different ranks. This young lord was a rival of Yuuri’s, in sports, and hated losing. It became sort of a love triangle when I came along, and, uh, well, my heart was set on Yuuri from the start, so…”

Yuri was pretty sure he could see hearts in the other man’s eyes and it made him want to vomit. He hated sappy love stories, and cringe-y phrases.  “So, you’re saying this dude killed your husband, because you wouldn’t date him?” He snorted, shaking his head at the thought.

“Well, when you put it like that-“

“Stuuuupid!” Yuri rolled his eyes. “Get to the part where you kill him.”

Viktor laughed. “Chris warned me you were an impatient fellow. Hm, let’s see…so, yes, he got sick of Yuuri beating him in everything, including love, so he decided to get rid of him. I was distraught, of course, and immediately went to retrieve Yuuri’s spirit.”

“Wait, how the hell does one just go and ‘retrieve a spirit’?!”

“I’m getting to that part!” Viktor grinned, responding before he continued. “The Shade Lords have only one weakness, well, more like, I should say, one common enemy. Since this fella didn’t know who I was, he sort of screwed himself over pretty dang badly. I got my Yuuri back, and killed the Lord. Yay!”

Why was this guy so damn happy? Yuri could feel his eye twitching. “So…how the fuck did you kill him then- WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Another young man appeared in the room. Well, more like his head appeared in the room, through the wall. “Viktor…I’m stuck again.” The young man looked rather anxious over the matter. “It’s not funny! Every time I work up the energy to get through the wall, I get excited and anxious at the same time, and then I lose it!”

Viktor was laughing, but he stood up and went over, still chuckling as he pulled on the man’s head. Eventually the rest of his body followed. 

“You’re lucky you’re so cute…” The new man grumbled, adjusting his glasses. “Who is this?”

Yuri was a frozen statue, trying to comprehend what he had just seen. Yep. Ghost. Ghost, ghost, ghost… “GHOST.”

“Yes, Yuuri is a ghost.” Viktor nodded. “Yuuri, this is Yuri Plisetsky. He’s one of Yakov’s, and is out to tag himself a Shade Lord.”

“A Shade Lord?” Yuuri walked over and sat next to Yuri, holding his hand out to him. The fellow was clearly older than Yuri as well, and was Japanese. “That sounds risky, which one are you after? I met a few down below, but only the lesser Lords, none of the greater ones.”

“Otabek Altin, is his name.” Yuri went to shake Yuuri’s hand out of habit - his grandfather had taught him some manners after all - but was greeted with nothing but an uncomfortable, nauseating chill when his hand went right through the offered one. “Oh god…”

“Oops!” Yuuri yanked his hand back, looking embarrassed. “Sorry…”

“How the hell did he touch you then?!”

Viktor shrugged. “Part of being me, I suppose.”

“I didn’t hear of an Otabek.” Yuuri looked to Viktor. “Do you know of him?”

The older Russian nodded, looking worried for once. “I do.  He’s an extremely high ranking Shade Lord. Getting him won’t be easy, or even possible, for a 16 year old like you even with your gifts.”

“How do you know about my- eh, Yakov, I’m guessing.” Yuri huffed. “Look, I need this tag. The reward is too great for me to pass up, so…” he grumbled, looking down, “help me.”

“Eh?” Viktor held a hand up to his ear. “I didn’t hear a pleeease?”

“Viktor…” Yuuri frowned, “stop messing with the kid.”

Yuri glared, but he had to do it. “Fucking please?! Sheesh.”

“Close enough.” Viktor grinned, leaning across the table. “You can kill him…if you’re me, and only me.”

“Huuuuuuh?” Yuri blinked. “How is that?”

“Because I’m Death.”


	3. Shapeshifter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri offers Yuri the only help he can think of. Whether that help will be reliable or not, Yuri's not too sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't help thinking that Yuri and Minami could end up as either really interesting friends, or...well, Min might find himself stuffed into a bin somewhere once Yuri snaps. xD

Even after a very long soaking in the hot springs at the inn, Yuri still could not fall asleep. Not after what Viktor had told him. 

Sure, Yuri knew there were such things as the reapers – who came and led off deceased souls – but he had never entertained the idea of someone being Death itself. Not to mention, someone who was as sunshine-y and cheerful as that Viktor.

Course, his more worrying concern was the fact that apparently only the living Death, it self, was capable of ridding Yuri of his targeted Shade Lord.  His powers were only able to cause death to humans, especially male humans, and a few creatures here and there that were normally very non-threatening to begin with.  To have complete control over all things as Death, now that would be something else.

There was no way for him to kill his target then, unless he convinced Viktor to do it for him; which sucked, because Yuri never allowed anyone to have his kills. A Shade Lord too…that would be a top notch tag to have in his file that Yakov kept.  Sure, Yuri had tagged a bunch of human targets, and a few lesser beings too, but never anything, or anyone, as high ranked as a Shade Lord.

From what he knew, there were not many of them in existence, 20 or 30 at the most, and, according to Viktor, they were distinguished through rank.  Altin was apparently a high ranking Lord, but to what degree of rank, Viktor would not say.

When he first went to live with Yakov, at 14, and was learning about the various creatures that he had only vaguely heard about prior, Yakov only told him the basics of Shade Lords. They were meant to be dark creatures, who had the power to control shades at their whim – shades being the spirits of the dead – using them for whatever they required; also the Lords could melt into shadow, which made it easy for them to be anywhere. They could create shadows as well, and use them as a sort of networking system to see through even when they were not in the same area.  Of course, there was a limit to the distance, but that was why Yuri had gotten so nervous when Altin had noticed him – the man could have easily looked through the shadows in the room Yuri had been in, and watched him as he left.

Shade Lords were sensitive to light, even while in human form.  Yuri had always been paying attention to those he spotted wearing sunglasses indoors, because even artificial lighting could be painful to a Shade Lord.  He had not seen Altin wearing sunglasses, but maybe the higher ranked Lords were able to endure the light better?

Yakov had never mentioned how to handle dealing with one; the old man had merely told him to avoid them at all costs – that they were highly dangerous, and typically did not care for others outside of their kind, most preferred not staying long up on Earth.  So why was Altin up here running a major company?

Ugh, why did Yakov have to agree to take such a request? Who wanted Altin dead anyway? Yuri had not even thought to ask; it was probably another big company president; surely not someone who knew who the guy really was.

A heavy shuffling, in the wall next to him, nearly gave Yuri a heart attack. He glanced over and was not too surprised then to see only a partial bit of Yuuri sticking through the wall of his room.

“Holy shit! Stop that!” He pulled the sheets up to his chin, having been in bed shirtless in the heated room.

“Sorry!!” Yuuri apologized, sounding exasperated. “I was getting the hang of it again just now…this whole being dead thing is a bother.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow. “A bother? Honestly, how did you even agree to being brought back as a ghost anyway?”

If Yuuri was alive, Yuri was sure a blush would be seen there on his face. “I wanted to be with Viktor, and I already knew at the time about who he was…it was scary being dead-”

“You’re still dead.” Yuri pointed out.

“Ah, true.” Yuuri laughed, awkwardly. “But I’m not alone here…and Viktor is stuck here on Earth for a while, long story, so I agreed to be brought back. Mom and dad didn’t seem to mind too badly, though mom cries every time she sees me stuck in the wall.”

 _Wonder why._ Yuri snorted to himself. “So if you can barely make it through walls, how the hell can you walk around and sit at the table?”

“Oh.” Yuuri nodded, while slowly trying to wiggle himself free of the wall. “It’s a lot easier for me to do mundane things like that, because it’s so engrained in my mind from when I was alive. I don’t have to think about it. Whereas, walking through walls isn’t normal for a living person, so I have to think harder and put more energy into it. If I lose my focus or get nervous that’s when I start to get stuck.”

“Just use the door then, idiot.” Yuri shook his head. “What are you doing sneaking in here anyway?”  
                “I could sense you weren’t asleep.” The ghost freed another arm from the wall. “I’m sure you’re thinking about what Viktor told you, about everything.”

“Is there really no other way to kill one of those guys? They’re sensitive to light, right? Why can’t I just lock him up in a brightly lit room for ages till he croaks?”

Yuuri frowned, getting his hand stuck that was trying to free a leg. “That could take years. Would you really feel right torturing someone for a long period of time, just in the hopes that he will die? If he doesn’t that would be cruel, and honestly you don’t know anything about him personally, besides the fact that he is a Shade Lord. Why do you want to kill him then, because someone’s paying you? How did a kid like you get caught up in this line of work?”

“That’s none of your business.” Yuri glared back at him, squishing the uncomfortable feelings that came with Yuuri’s questions. 

When he had first started working for Yakov, he had questioned why they were killing their requested targets. Always it was because the people had done bad things, and, if that answer was not provided to them, they could only assume the same.  His grandpa had sheltered him from the time he was unceremoniously dumped off at the house – his only experiences with outsiders having always been with ‘bad’ people who hated his existence, or wanted to keep him as a ‘collection piece’, so, once joining Yakov, he had never thought to question that they might be tagging a person who could be innocent of everything except for being in someone else’s way.

“You think Altin is just some innocent?” He questioned. “A Shade Lord of that level can’t be too innocent. Yakov says they’re all dangerous.”

“You never know, and ‘dangerous’ does not necessarily mean ‘evil’. Sure most of them have a bad reputation, but…” Yuuri replied, falling out of the wall with an ‘oof’. He went over and sat at the bottom of Yuri’s bed, testing it first before sitting just in case he accidentally fell through. “I don’t completely know how they are ranked – like, if they are born into it, or have to do things to rise through ranks. They only borrow human forms, for when they are up on Earth, but their true forms are pretty scary.”

None of this was really helping Yuri plan on how he was going to complete the tagging request. “And there’s no other way for me to get rid of him…I can’t give up on this. Are you sure there’s nothing you can think of…?” He hated sounding so desperate, but that reward money was too great to pass up; he needed it.

“I know…one person, who might be able to help.”

“You don’t sound so sure about that.”

Yuuri sighed, looking uncomfortable. “He’s…enthusiastic, at best. Was a teammate of mine, before I died. He’s also a shapeshifter.”

Now there was something he had never met before. Shapeshifters were pretty rare. “How’s a shapeshifter going to help me?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a thought, but maybe he could help you infiltrate the guy’s business building?” Yuuri explained. “He could follow him home even; get any info you might find helpful. The only problem is…he’s a little…young and excitable, and struggles sometimes with anything other than inanimate objects.”

“Oh good, I can have him be a chair or something.” Yuri sighed, rolling his eyes. “Well, that could be useful, I suppose. I’ll give him a try.”

“Yay!” The happy look on Yuuri’s face made Yuri feel a little uncomfortable. What was he getting himself into now? “I think he’ll appreciate being able to help!”

 

* * *

 

No. Minami Kenjirou was worse than Viktor. Doubly worse; how was that even possible? Yuri could almost feel both eyes twitching as he sat across the squeaky boy, who was, shockingly, a year older than him.

“I can help! I can help!” Minami was practically bouncing on his chair. He had not stopped grinning since arriving at the inn the next morning, especially after getting to see Yuuri which had him nearly wetting himself from excitement.  What a fanboy.

“I am really starting to question it…” Yuri muttered under his breath. “Are you going to be okay with traveling? Can you, uh…turn into things without too much trouble…?” He did not want to offend the kid, but he was not coming off as too reliable.

Minami hopped up with a determined grin. “Yeah!! I’ve been practicing! Watch!” He closed his eyes real tight, focusing, and then turned into a copy of the mug sitting on the table in front of them. Well, at least he was the shape of the mug. It had a nice red floof of hair sticking out the side for the handle, unfortunately.

Awesome.

After he turned back, he asked if he had done well, but no one else in the room seemed to have the heart to tell Minami how it had gone semi-poorly. Yuri normally would have been the honest one, but that might cost him the kid’s help, so he gritted his teeth and just nodded.

The thought of being stuck on an obviously dangerous mission did not seem to faze Minami either. Not being able to speak the language was a problem, but he told Yuri he could become an accessory or something to be carried around; he wouldn’t have to communicate with others then, and it would save on traveling expenses too.

Honestly it was not ideal to have someone alongside him as he went about his mission, but a shapeshifter could stay out of the way a lot more easily than most. Agreeing, Yuri about changed his mind when Minami decided to travel as his necklace.  Ugh. Really?

“I want to be able to see while we’re traveling!!”

“You can still see while you’re shifted into objects?!”

Minami giggled, nodding. “Course! And don’t go thinking I do any pervy stuff!” He shook a finger at him. “I’m a respectable person, thank you very much.”

Yuri had to put his actual necklace away – a small chain with a tiny, silver tiger pendant – which made him feel almost naked. It had been a gift from Yakov, after racking up over ten successful tags, and it was the first gift he had ever gotten from anyone besides his grandpa. It was special to him.

Minami’s version of his necklace held a more gold-ish sheen to it, instead of silver, and Yuri was almost certain there was a hint of red in there. Was this kid that awful at what he did? Shapeshifters were born with the skills to change whenever, and most learned to control those skills by an early age. Surely by now Minami should be fairly decent at least, even being able to turn into animals or people if he was really good.

Before they left, Viktor gave Yuri his number, in case his help would be needed in the end. Yuri was really hoping he would not have to contact the man, but he was not dumb enough to close any options given to him, whether he wanted them or not.

Hopping back on the plane was a relief – he was not a fan of traveling outside the country, for staying away from his grandpa for too long – but the unnatural warmth of the necklace around his neck made him uncomfortable the entire time, knowing it was an actual person and not his real necklace.

Figuring out the next steps of his plan to get to Altin was the next challenge he faced.  He was only 16; there was no way he could just walk into the office building and demand an audience with the guy.  Yakov better have some ideas, otherwise he was going to have to get really creative.


	4. Gaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An association party provides Yuri and Minami the easiest opportunity to get close to the president, and hopefully find an alternative method to getting rid of him. A reminder of Yuri's past greets him at the dinner, leaving him feeling sick and anxious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rolls about* So sleepy...what am I even writing? But Beka's gonna make his grand entrance soon~!

If there was one thing Minami _was_ good at, it was changing back to himself. He was sitting in Yakov’s office, swinging his legs and looking around, as Yuri discussed what he now knew from Viktor.

“Who is this petite mouse?” Chris wandered in, eyeing up the newcomer.

Minami introduced himself, giggling when Chris kissed his hand in greeting. Yuri smacked himself on the forehead, having forgotten to warn the kid about Chris’ forwardness.

“Stop flirting with everyone you meet, idiot.” Yuri shoved Chris away. “What are you doing here?”

“Um, I work here too, kitty.” Chris patted the top of his head; Yuri wished he would reach a damn growth spurt already and tower over the sleaze-ball. “Actually, I bring fun news! Your target is attending some partner’s association dinner, which he can’t exactly pass up on if he wants to keep up appearances, especially since his company helps fund some of the music and arts organizations Lilia’s dance school happens to be sponsored through.”

Yuri knew exactly where Chris was going with that. “So Lilia’s been invited, and she usually brings a few of her top students along…”  Well, he was not exactly a student there, but he did stop by fairly often to practice dance under her helpful eye; not that he would tell anyone.  Chris only knew because he had stopped by one day to deliver a message to her from Yakov, spotting him in the studio.

“Bingo!” The older man winked. “You can get close and cozy to the president and then do whatever you’re planning to get rid of him. Though I’d watch out, if I were you, some of my background sources say some real shady looking fellas have been asking around for a blondie like yourself. Whether that’s from previous tags, their buddies out for revenge, or something actually related to Altin, I don’t know.”

Well, Yuri did have plenty of enemies. Hopefully it was more of a revenge based search, because he was hoping to go in to this party without Altin recognizing him. Depended on how long the guy had been watching him the other day in that apartment building.

“Lilia will help keep Yura safe as well,” Yakov nodded from his desk, “it’s not a bad plan at least. Though I still don’t understand how you planning on tagging someone only Death himself can bring down.”

“I want to go to a party!” Minami’s eyes sparkled at the thought.

“I don’t have any excuse for getting you in.” Yuri frowned. “You’re going, but you’ll have to be something to get in, probably my necklace again…”

Minami pouted, but nodded. “Fine, but not a necklace! You’d have to hide me under your suit jacket, and then I won’t be able to see. How will I be your backup then? Or go out and spy?!”

“We’ll think of something for you, little mouse!” Chris winked.  

Yakov was right though – how was Yuri going to tag Altin once he was near him? That was the only issue with their plan, and Yuri needed to think of something fast, or he might lose his opportunity to ever do so again.

 

* * *

 

Minami had agreed to be the small pocket handkerchief that Lila had expertly arranged poking up from Yuri’s jacket breast pocket. Thankfully the red color he had taken on did not look too terrible with the black suit ensemble Yuri had been made to wear – Lilia had picked it out, stating it helped accentuate his features and look perfectly slim and petite. Yuri could care less about all that; he just wanted to get there already and come face to face with his target.

There were only a few other dancers from Lilia’s school attending with them. They were all familiar with Yuri a little, most thinking he should still come join them at the school to actually perform. If he was not caught up in Yakov’s group, he may have considered it, but working was more important for him.

Attending big, fancy parties was not Yuri’s thing, but he sometimes had to when it came to getting targets. Yakov and Lilia had both taught him how to blend in, and be respectable, though sometimes he failed a little on the respectable part.

This party was huge, filled with so many people that it was extremely easy to blend it. After being introduced to their host – the president of the partner’s association – Yuri slipped off into the crowd.  He made a point to introduce himself to everyone who spoke to him, not wanting to cause Lilia any problems for her private school.  Unfortunately, after tonight, his target would know exactly who he was, but Yuri was hoping to have him tagged and out of the picture by morning, so hopefully that would not be an issue.

Finding Altin was another matter entirely. There were too many people to easily pick one out of the crowd.  By the time he had joined Lilia and her dancers again for dinner, he was frustrated for having not seen him. 

He spent most of dinner scanning the large room, eventually spotting the dark haired man almost on the complete opposite side of the room. Altin was surrounded by way too many ladies; Yuri had to roll his eyes. Dude was probably a playboy. Grabbing the handkerchief from his pocket, he held it to his lips, talking to Minami quietly under the pretense of hiding a cough. He instructed the shapeshifter to gaze where their target was, and then once he dropped him to find a way across the room to get close and listen in on the conversation till dinner was over.  Hopefully Minami could accomplish it without getting caught.

Just as he was about to drop the handkerchief, he locked eyes with Altin and felt his chest tighten oddly. A faint flush crossed his face, only at having been caught he swore, and he actually sneezed into the poor handkerchief, turning his face away quickly.

_Sorry, Minami…_

Poor kid was probably going to want a bath later now. Gross.  Even Yuri had to feel bad for him. Eventually he felt it was safe to sneak a peek towards the president. Thankfully he was engaged in conversation once more, and Yuri put his plan into action, quietly apologizing to Minami as he dropped the handkerchief. Making sure no one was watching, he reached down to pick it up, but, instead, he watched as it turned into a grape and rolled past a few tables. How that was even possible, Yuri was not going to question it. The grape had an uncomfortable yellowish look to it, and hopefully no one noticed or stepped on it.  Sneakily, Yuri quickly pulled another red handkerchief out from inside his jacket sleeve, sitting back up and neatly folding it to put it back into his pocket. No one had questioned what he was up to, so he could relax a little. Now to wait till dinner was over so he could rescue Minami and figure out what to do next.

Still…he felt unsettled, an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, ever since locking gazes with the president. Those dark eyes had caught him too easily, set in a, admittedly, attractive face. Not that Yuri cared about such things.  The remembered sight of them would not let him go, however, and he grumbled to himself, trying to focus on the food instead. It wasn’t too bad, though he preferred his grandpa’s home cooked meals instead of anything as fancy as this.

Once dinner was over, he excused himself and went to edge his way closer to the table he had seen the president at. Hopefully Minami would not be too difficult to find.  By the time he reached the opposite side of the room, his path continuously blocked by groups of people, Altin was gone from the table, as was everyone else who had been seated there.

“Shit…” Yuri looked around, closer to the floor. The only thing he saw was a yellow shoe, poking out from under the table. It had red shoelaces. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” He glared at it until it changed into a gold button.  He quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into his pocket. As he was doing so, he jumped when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Yuri Plisetsky?”

“What do ya- oh.” Yuri turned and his face dropped when he saw who it was. He recognized the dress as belonging to a lady who had been sitting at the same table with the president over dinner. Now that he was seeing her up close, he recognized who she was. “What do you want?” His defenses were raised and he tensed enough that she dropped her hand, looking uncomfortable.

“My apologies; I wasn’t sure…but it is you.” She looked down at the table before glancing back up at him again. Her carefully curled blond hair was draped elegantly around her shoulders – she was beautiful, but, then again, all of her kind was. Yuri should know better than anyone. 

“What were you doing just now by our table?”

“Button broke off my shirt.” Yuri gave the only excuse he could think of. He wanted to put as much distance between his self and this lady as he possibly could. Screw that president; he would find him in a bit. At least he had Minami back. Not wanting to start anything, considering there was people all around them, he nodded and turned, not making eye contact with her. “I have to go now.”

“I’m sorry, Yuri. I-“

“Give my regards to your _queen_.” He spat quietly, shoving his way past her. “Not like the bitch will want to hear from me anyway.”  Quickly he walked away, only glancing back once to see she had not moved or turned to watch him go.  The low back of her shimmering rose gold dress revealed the tell-tale markings of their kind; markings that Yuri knew resided upon his own back only as faint scars, ugly signs of his own disgusting existence.  Thinking about it made him feel nauseated and he escaped the room, intent upon finding some fresh air to quell the panic that was rising inside of him.

Down a long hallway, he spotted a balcony outside the tall windows.  Not long after, right before an elevator, he found the door leading out to it. The door was squeaky as he opened it, embracing the air outside that was warm and humid and not exactly decent for someone in a suit.  He pulled his suit jacket off, setting it aside and being mindful of the gold button inside his jacket pocket.  Sneezing on Minami was one thing; he did not want to be knocking the poor kid around too – he wasn’t that much of an asshole, and the kid was helping him out.

Going over to the railing, he leaned on it, resting his head on his arms as he looked out over the well-groomed grounds. It was easier to breathe outside, but his mind was still fucking with him.  He had never expected to run in to one of his own kind here, though, he supposed, keeping up appearances for a group as prominent as _theirs_ was expected whether they were sponsors or not. At least it had not been the bitch.  She was probably too busy, like always. Good thing too, otherwise he might have really caused a scene.

Lost in his thoughts, he was unaware of the presence beside him until the smell of cigarette smoke hit his nose. Startled, Yuri looked beside him and realized Otabek Altin was standing there, looking out over the railing, cigarette in hand. The sight of the man standing there made Yuri’s heart leap to his throat; it was an uncomfortable feeling, being so close to someone he knew could easily kill him before he even lifted a finger.

“Fuck, do you ever knock or introduce yourself first?” Yuri glanced back and saw the door was shut, like he had left it, and he had not heard it squeak either. “How the hell did you even get out here?”

Otabek blew smoke from his lips and crushed the cigarette on the balcony, gazing down at the ashy remains. “I don’t exactly need a door.” His low voice vibrated throughout Yuri’s entire being, making him shiver. He glanced down at Yuri with a mildly interested expression. “But you already know that, don’t you, Yuri Plisetsky?”


	5. JJL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otabek tries to give Yuri a reason to give up on chasing after him in hopes of killing him...it backfires and gives Yuri all the more reason to tag him. Yuri figures out who requested Otabek dead and decides to go visit him, despite the warnings he receives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING~ ASSAULT STUFF HAPPENS AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

“Let’s get to the point then, since you seem to know why I’m here.” Yuri smirked, trying to make his self seem a lot bigger than he actually felt next to the intimidating man. God, he really needed a growth spurt; he hated others looking down upon him, figuratively or physically.

“Actually, I don’t.” Otabek replied, staring him down. “I know you were watching me the other day, and are aware of who I truly am. What I don’t know,” he moved closer, “is why you think you are going to kill me. Your powers are useless against me, _sirin_.”

Shit. Yuri backed away as the older man approached. Facing an opponent with no clear course of action was not Yuri’s specialty, especially for an opponent as dangerous as this one. “I haven’t missed a target yet, with or without my voice, so maybe think a little before trying to act all mighty.” His words were falling a tad flat, in light of his current situation. He was not so much afraid as he was uncomfortable, and trying to figure out his best course of action. The corner pillar of the balcony bumped into his back, making him realize he had nowhere else to go.

“Says the little bird pinned to a corner.” Otabek grabbed Yuri by the chin roughly, staring him in the eyes. “A rare little bird too…I think some of your family is here tonight. Out of all of them you may be the prettiest I’ve ever laid eyes upon-“

Rage filled Yuri’s eyes and he shoved the man away from him, making a break for the door. How dare that asshole talk about him as if he was just like the rest of his kind; they were no family of his! And he was most certainly not as beautiful as they were; he was ugly, a disgrace to his kind, anyone could tell Altin _that_!

He barely made it half way across the balcony when dark shadows spread up from the flooring, catching his feet and sticking him to the floor, causing him to fall over.  “What the fuck, asshole! Let me go!”  Trying to pull his feet free, he looked up to see Otabek crouching down in front of him, holding his forgotten suit jacket in hand. “You almost left something behind.”

“Fuck you!” 

“I apologize for offending you just now; however you _are_ the one trying to kill me.” Otabek replied, not bothered one bit by Yuri’s attitude. “Who ordered you to kill me?”

Yuri glared, grabbing the jacket, not that it helped him much since his feet were still stuck. “How the hell should I know? I just get told who to tag and I do it. You probably have a shit ton of enemies; figure it out yourself, dick! Let me go, damn it!”

Otabek looked troubled, but he lifted Yuri from the balcony floor, the shadows receding and freeing Yuri’s feet.  However, he did not let go of Yuri, keeping a tight grip on his wrists. The jacket fell to the ground between them, forgotten momentarily as Yuri struggled to break himself free of the stronger man’s grip. “I can’t have you continue following me, Yuri. As nice as your presence is, it’s too risky. Most of my enemies aren’t human, and one’s even more dangerous than I am.”

“Like hell I’m about to give up!” Yuri could not free his wrists and it was pissing him off. “I _will_ kill you. I’ll follow you to hell if I have to, bastard!”

“Your dedication is overwhelming.” Otabek pulled Yuri closer; their faces far too close for Yuri’s liking. He did not like being so close to others, and had little experience with it considering as a child no one had wanted to be anywhere near him. Only his grandpa was allowed to be close to him.

Having Otabek’s lips so close to his own made Yuri’s face redden, and he turned his head away, still struggling to escape. “Let me go!”

“If you won’t promise to leave me alone, I will give you incentive…” The older man looked almost apologetic as he grabbed Yuri’s face, turning it to his to capture his lips in a rough kiss.

Yuri’s eyes widened in shock, causing him to freeze for a second before he started pushing on Otabek’s chest with his free hand, making noises of protest; a muffled cry escaped him when he felt the other man’s arm wrap around his body, pulling him closer.  Their bodies were flush together, and Yuri’s own body was unsure how to respond; despite the sudden terror he felt, there was a tiny thrill that betrayed him, enjoying the strong, secure arms that held him close.  Panicking, he bit Otabek’s lip roughly, tasting blood before the other man jerked away. Using the moment of surprise to escape, Yuri stumbled away, back towards the railing. He found himself quickly pinned once more, and his head yanked back as Otabek pressed against him, attacking his neck with rough kisses.  The other man’s hand was drifting across to his front, and Yuri panicked, realizing if he did not do something fast, he was going to really be trapped.

“MINAMI!”

His cry made Otabek pause only for a brief second, but it was long enough.  There was a shuffling behind them and then Otabek was hit behind the head, as hard as little Minami could do so. It was not enough to knock the man out, but it was enough to knock him aside and distract him.

“Run, Yurio!”

“Don’t call me ‘Yurio’, damn it!” Yuri allowed Minami to grab his wrist and run. They escaped the balcony, and Yuri ended up directing Minami towards the front door. He could contact Lilia once they were gone. Sticking around now was not a safe plan, and Yuri was trying not to think about all that had just occurred. 

Being surrounded in the night made Yuri nervous. Shade Lords thrived in darkness, and there was an abundance of shadow around them as they waited with the door man for their ride home.  Altin could be everywhere around them, watching, and it made Yuri feel uncomfortable. Every time Minami tried to speak, Yuri shushed him.   Losing his chill was not something Yuri did often; he was usually able to stay tough, even in rough situations, but…he had never been sexually assaulted before, for one thing, and two, while everything kept playing through his mind, he could not get the image of those eyes out of his head. They continued to draw him in, and had him shivering.

“Yuri…are you oka-“

“Shut up, Minami, or I swear to god...” Yuri covered his ears with his hands, glad to see the taxi arriving.  He hurried the smaller teen into the vehicle and slammed the door shut behind them, silently urging the taxi to hurry.

 

* * *

 

As soon as they arrived home to Yakov’s headquarters, Yuri texted Lilia to let her know that he had gone home and would explain everything later. He dragged Minami to his rooms and then let the kid do whatever, as he went and drowned himself in the hottest shower he could stand. The feeling of Otabek’s arms around him still had him shaking slightly. The heavy taste of the man’s cigarette smoke still assaulted his mouth as well. Gross, gross, gross.  The next time he saw that man he was going to beat the shit out of him.

After an hour long shower, he brushed his teeth about four or five times, hoping the lingering feeling of those kisses would go away.  There were bruises along his neck and he felt his body shiver when he remembered how he had gotten them. God.

Of course his first kiss had to be an awful experience, so lame. Not that Yuri legitimately cared about such things, but still…it would have been nice if it had at least been more of a pleasant experience, with someone who wasn’t an ass. It pissed him off too, remembering that brief moment of thought that being held in the other man’s arms had felt good. No fucking way.

Minami was huddled down on the couch, watching a tv show he clearly could not understand, when Yuri appeared tossing a towel at him.  “Go shower.”

“Eh?” The Japanese teen pulled the towel off his head and looked up at Yuri. “I’m okay-“

“I fucking sneezed on you earlier. It’s gross.”

Minami giggled, standing. “True…I mean, I didn’t really feel it, but I suppose you’re right. We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Whatever.” Yuri grabbed bottled water from his fridge, flopping down on the couch as Minami went into the bathroom.  As soon as he heard the shower running, he curled up and grabbed a pillow, holding it over his head. “Ugh…”

What the hell had all that been for?! Did Altin think assaulting him like that would scare him into running away?  Fat chance! Sure it had made Yuri uncomfortable, but he was not about to give up, especially not now. Now he had a personal reason to tag the guy, beyond just that of the request Yakov had received.  Yuri was not one to hide in his room and cry like a baby when things got rough; he was going to get revenge.

Speaking of that request; Yuri was going to take a look at it the next day. He needed to know who had put in for Altin’s death.

 

* * *

 

Of course he left out some of the details when relaying the events of the previous night to Yakov and Lilia. If he made it seem, in any way, too dangerous of a task, or too difficult for him to handle, Yakov would pull him from the mission.  Yuri was not about to let that happen. Not now when he was feeling extra determined.

“Thanks for helping Yura out, Minami.” Yakov nodded towards the other teen who smiled and replied that he was glad he could be of help.

“I’m not too useless after all!” Minami sighed in relief.

Yuri still questioned the kid’s abilities, but he had saved him the night before, so there was that. “Did you hear anything of interest while hiding around their table?”

Minami shrugged. “There was a lot of small talk, business talk- OH, and he mentioned something about traveling soon, next month at some time, but he did not mention where, though the ladies at the table _begged_ to know.”

 _I’m sure they were…_ Yuri rolled his eyes, not surprised if there were others of his kind there and not just that one lady.  Chris had said Altin liked ‘exotic’ things after all, and anyone would consider their selves lucky if they were showed interest by one of Yuri’s kind.  They were known to follow rich and attractive individuals as well, especially men, so the president of a company like Altin’s would be a real catch to them. It made Yuri sick, knowing how they acted towards the men they ‘caught’.

“So he’ll be traveling next month, which gives us some time to plan…” Yuri glanced over at Yakov, “hey, old man, give me the request form for Altin.”

Yakov looked at him. “The request form? Why?”

“Shouldn’t I know who we’re working for?”

“I told you. There’s no name on the request form. Just the request and a message at the bottom that he would know once the guy was dead, which was when we would get the reward money.” Yakov noted the look on Yuri’s face and sighed, grabbing the request form from a folder and tossing it at him. “Fine; look, if you don’t believe me.”

Yuri scoured the paper, which was fairly blank compared to most request forms they received. Shit, there really was nothing. Besides the letters at the bottom…

“’JJL’?”

“Must be their initials, or business, but none of my contacts know what it’s for.”

“Christ, Yakov!” Yuri whipped out his phone and started searching. “Get with the times and use the internet once in a while!” He knew Yakov hated using most technology, cause it could leave traces that could get them all arrested, but it did come in handy every so often.  “This could have saved us some- aha! Got it: Jean-Jacques Leroy, owns some major company in Canada that specializes in sporting goods and sponsors major Canadian athletes. Why would he want Altin dead then?” Altin’s company did nothing related to sporting goods or athletics.

He looked back up at Yakov. “I’m going to-“ His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, staring at the unknown number’s text.

[ _I told you to stay away from all of this_ ]

Huh? Who…no way, was it Altin?

[ **Im coming to beat ur ass. U cant scare me away, prick** ]

“Yura? Who is it?” Yakov asked, seeing the look on Yuri’s face.

“Our target…” Yuri replied, “got his number at least. He thinks he can make me stop coming after him; he has another thing coming. I’m going to Canada to talk to this JJ dude.” His phone buzzed seconds after he finished speaking.

[ _I am sorry for what I did; I truly thought it would scare you off. Please, do not go find JJ_ ]

How the hell did Altin know he was planning on going to see JJ? [ **Fuck off. Are u watching me right now?!** ]

[ _I had to make sure you were done with meddling, but it seems not…_ ]

Screw this asshole. Yuri looked towards the shadows in the corner of the room, assuming Altin was using them to spy, which meant he was not too far away. He flicked them off and stood, turning back to Yakov and Lilia. “Our target’s spying on us. I’m leaving now and won’t be back until this is all done and dealt with. Not getting you two involved. Come on, Minami.”

He walked out of the room, leaving the shapeshifter to follow along quickly. Saving Altin’s number to his contacts, just in case, he called up Chris telling him to make arrangements for a flight out to Canada the next day.

Texts from Altin came sporadically throughout the day and Yuri almost wanted to call him up and scream at him to stop. Why was the man so desperate for him to avoid this JJ? Maybe Altin was guilty of something awful after all. Yuri deleted all the texts, sending one last ‘fuck off’ before bed that night. An uncomfortable feeling was settling over him as he contemplated all the possible scenarios he could learn of after talking to this JJ. This was a good lead for them, however, so he was going to take it.


End file.
